


what price is your faith?

by dogf1ght



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, christian skinny boy falls in love with punk ass bitch, lil babbies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-18 11:19:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5926540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogf1ght/pseuds/dogf1ght
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the only thing harder than asking for forgiveness is actually changing</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title is from the book nothing by janne teller whicH IS A TRAUMATIZING BOOK PLEASE FUCKING READ THAT BOOK also this shouldn't be as inspired with my experiences at my own church but watcha gonna do

“forgive me father,” tyler begins to say. “for i have sinned.” he finishes. tears flood his eyes as soon as he stops talking. oh my god, he thinks, i really fucked up this time.

it all started and ended, just like the best stories do, with two things: josh dun, and tyler’s best kept secret and biggest sin. 

on the boy’s first day of his freshman year of high school, he was adjusting his tie and belt at his bus stop (which he was ten minutes early to) when a person built like a brick ran into him, which scattered his backpack and a few of its contents onto the hard sidewalk. the person immediately apologized in a voice that did not match his hair, piercings, tattoos, leather jacket, ripped jeans, heavy boots, and sex pistols (tyler almost ran away as fast as he could when he read it) shirt. 

tyler should have just thanked him and turned away, he never should have tried to hold a conversation with him, and he never should have not ignored him. 

but he didn’t. 

tyler also should have just ignored him and run the minute the person looked at him like the socs look at greasers during the outsiders movies, like guys on the football team look at cheerleaders when they think no one else but them is watching, like how he looked at oscar isaac when he saw the new star wars movie…

like he was a piece of meat, like he was a prize to be won, like he was a possible wet dream in two or three nights.

but he didn’t, tyler didn’t run. and he hates himself for it.

he also should’ve run when the person grabbed his arm and his dark, brand new sharpie off of the ground and wrote his number on tyler’s tiny, bony wrist. 

but he didn’t.

what he did do, though, was scrub off the sequence of numbers the minute he got to school (and after writing it into the secret diary he keeps pushed into the back of his locker) to keep the bigger kids (and his friends) from cornering him and pestering him into telling him what girl finally took an interest in teeny-tiny, constantly nervous tyler joseph.

after he got the last blotch of ink off of his soft skin, he bolted out of the bathroom...only to run straight into the nosiest of the nosiest of all his nosy friends. 

oh jenna, tyler thought to himself. i can’t keep anything from you, can i?

“why did josh dun write his number on your arm this morning?” she asked him and oh yeah, tyler and jenna have the same bus stop. she must have seen the scene when she was walking over. 

“is that his name?” he questioned back, attempting to be nonchalant (he failed). 

he was too busy wondering how and why jenna black, a jesus-loving, god-fearing, almost sinless, gorgeous girl knew the punk-ass, bitch-ass teenage boy who didn’t look like he goes to church or to their school, the beauty herself answered his unasked question.

“he moved into the house behind my neighbor's house on the next street over. he sunbathes topless...a lot. and lives with his friends or something,” she rolled her eyes. “it’s like a frat house...but for high schoolers.”

tyler chewed on his bottom lip. “is there anything else you can tell me about him?”

jenna lovingly sighed. she loves tyler like one animal of a completely different species than another loves the first animal when they’re in a tight interspecies friendship. but lord jesus our heavenly father above, this boy needs some sense knocked into him, and she knows this first hand.

but she gave him what he wanted. “he’s super muscular, tattooed to death, loves that…” she wrinklee her nose. “punk music, and blasts it cons-tant-ly. he’s also very, very much a touchy person, and one of the guys he lives with is always feelin’ him up. also i’m like...90% sure one of the residents is like...38. he always makes weird art in the huge room with the big, big windows towards the back of the house.” 

tyler laughed nervously. “and now i have his number.”

jenna smiled like she was conniving, and dragged him away to their first hour. “oh, you poor, poor boy,” she told him.

i’m gonna be a poor boy when i have to tell the priest about this, tyler thought.

and oh, he was.

he was, most definitely, a poor, poor boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lemme know if this narrative makes sense but i feel like it's ok. also i have a mini drug dealer thing comin up soon so watch out for that

“did you do anything after that?” the principal asks him, questioning tyler like he robbed or stabbed or killed somebody. 

 

he didn’t do any of that, wouldn’t do any of that, couldn’t do any of that.

 

he’s just a good christian boy who made a mistake...or many. 

 

maybe he’s in love with a guy. 

 

sure, he’ll admit to that.

 

maybe the guy also loves him.

 

he’ll admit to that, too.

 

and maybe he’s sinned.

 

but shit, he’ll have a hard time admitting that.

 

“baby, tell him what happened. tell us what happened, exactly,” his mother tells him. perfectly manicured nails dig into his forearm hard enough to draw blood. and she probably would have, if her husband, tyler’s dad, didn’t stare her down until she loosened her grip.

 

tyler takes a deep breath and sendst a quick prayer, one for josh and one for him. 

 

they're both going to need it.

 

it didn’t start right away. tyler knew that for sure. even if he wasn’t gay. he’s an emotion-driven guy. his dick doesn’t decide his behavior, his heart does.

 

(at least, that’s what his friend brendon told him one time when they both slept over at tyler’s house in mid-july of the summer before eighth grade.)

 

what it did start with, though, was tyler innocently texting josh during the lunch period of the day josh ran smack dab into him.

 

Me: **_hey, it’s me_**

 

and then 

 

Me: _**the boy you ran into today**_

 

and then

 

Me: _**my name is tyler joseph btw**_

 

josh texted back a minute and a half later.

 

Unknown Number: _**hey!!!! i’m josh btw. josh dun. sorry i ran into u!!! it was a total accident. i was just tryin to catch up w my dog**_

 

tyler was nervous, because he didn’t know where any of this would lead, or if he’ll get caught.

 

and what would happen if he did.

 

but it’s not like he cared all that much, in the moment. he’d prayed for years that god would be his oracle and make sure that he would know when to avoid something, and he’d always gotten signs in the past. but nothing has popped up yet. nothing that made him want to avoid talking to josh.

 

so he continued, and even made josh a contact in his phone while he was as it.

 

me: _**oh cool! what kind of dog do you have?**_

 

josh dun: _**a pitbull!!! his name is spooky jim and he’s my best friend lol**_

 

josh dun: _**[one picture attachment]**_

 

Me: _**he’s such a cutie! i hope you got him back :(**_

 

josh dun: _**o i did! he actually just made his way home after a while. he probably just ran bc he could lol**_

 

josh dun: _**i hope i didn’t hurt u when i ran into u. u looked super startled when it happened**_

 

josh dun: _**it was totally worth it tho ;P**_

 

tyler didn’t know how to respond to that. was that flirting? was that platonic?

 

even if it was flirting, should he just brush it off and treat it was platonic?

 

me: _**yeah, it was. i’m happy to have met you :)**_

 

tyler’s father is gritting his teeth so hard tyler can hear the old man’s molars cracking. his mom is gripping the cross around her neck so hard tyler thinks his sister won’t have to polish it the saturday night before the peaceful, god-loving, absolutely-perfect josephs go to church.

 

the principal attempts to act as the voice of reason, and asks tyler to continue. 

 

he sighs again.

 

“do i need to?” he asks. he really doesn’t want to. he knows what’s in those messages, what pictures were sent, what phrases were used.

 

most of what they did was in person, though, at josh’s house. 

 

it wasn’t that hard to sneak out. his parent’s lives were conducted by a minute-by-minute daily schedule. tyler’s youngest siblings were always in some kind of bible daycare, and the older siblings were always doing something. thank the lord his parents let him quit basketball sophomore year to “focus on his studies.”

 

(tyler really, really hated basketball.)

 

“i was over at his house a lot...it was just to hang out, like every other teenager. he showed me how to play a bit of drums, and introduced me to his dog. i even met a bunch of his friends and he met…” tyler cuts himself off due to his parents’ looks of anticipation and despair. “jenna. it was all chill, we did a lot of writing together, and he helped me pass my physics class.”

 

his parents look confused. 

 

his father pipes up, talking for the first time this entire meeting. usually he just shows his disdain through gruff looks and sighs, so it’s his voice that scares tyler the most.

 

“how old even is this boy!?” he exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. tyler notices sweat stain on his arm pits on his white shirt, and wonders why the late-may heat is so unforgiving. 

 

tyler answers, “h-he’s a junior at the local high school in the public school district.”

 

both his parents snort. tyler knows his parents’ views on public schools. everyone knows their thoughts on public schools. 

 

you’re new to the neighborhood? here’s a pecan pie and my thought on public schools!

 

oh, you’re the parents of the new kid on the football team? i’m his mom, and our team is so good. thank god this isn’t a public school team!

 

who christians could hold so much pride.

 

“he’s pretty smart,” tyler juts in before his mother can say anything. “he’s like, the only reason i got a b on the bio final.”

 

tyler’s mom sighs. she was so happy the day the report card came through. “we have a lot to talk about, sweetie.” 

 

and yeah, she’s not wrong about that one.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also my tumblr is @ andimsatan pls give me attention


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so there are a lot of new characters but they're not like....super character-y but they're there

tyler is lying down next to josh on the soft grass in the warm summer air.

 

tyler is fingering at the grass, loving the feeling of the warm small blades under his fingertips, while josh has his arm outstretched to support the other boy’s head. the other arm lies on his stomach, soaking up the warm sun that rests in a cloudless sky. 

 

“so what happened after that?” josh asks, bending his outstretched arm enough to stroke tyler’s side with his callused fingertips. the smaller boy smiles softly at the contact. 

 

tyler sighs. (he doest a lot of that when talking about this particular subject.) “we just talked about like, what this would do to my like...my fate. my parent’s both think i’m going to hell.”  

 

josh doesn’t know what to say to that. his parents were, are, super supportive. the only reason he moved was the school system. they wanted him to get the best education, and they knew social isolation wasn’t the way to do it. so they let him live in a house with a bunch of his friends, and gave him full emancipation so he could move away easier. josh still sees them as often as possible, though. “they….they actually said that? to your face?”

 

tyler closes his eyes, reliving the memory. “yeah. and my principal wants me thrown out of school, too,” he rolls his eyes. “they think i’ll ‘infect’ the other kids.” he uses his fingers for air quotes, displacing himself from his position next to josh. “it’s idiotic. like, they want me to be a heterosexual so fucking bad. if i sexted a girl, the only thing i’d be reprimanded for was using the wrong translation.”

 

josh snorts. “new international?”

 

now it’s tyler’s turn to laugh. “nah, king james.”

 

josh nods, trying to contain his giggles. “good choice, good choice.”

 

they make eye contact and burst into a fit of shared laughter.

 

“hey!” ashley calls through the open back door, startling tyler. he’s still not a hundred percent used to girls who actually assert their positions in society. “come inside! andy cooked us dinner!”

 

josh whines. “but it’s so early!”

 

which is true. it’s only 6:30 pm, and they all normally eat something related to dinner around 8, or 10. (but never in between. america’s next top model reruns are on at 9).

 

they head into the house, the scent of vegan hot dogs reaching their noses before they can even step foot on the patio. 

 

everyone in the house knows tyler by now, so andy and patrick greet him with some variation of “hey man.” 

 

at first, the skinny, small, suspiciously well-dressed boy stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

but everyone, literally everyone, loves josh, especially the people stuck in a house with him, so it wasn’t long before they all fell in love with the little tyler.

 

it did take some work though.

 

“so,” frank had said to him one day in june. “how’d you meet josh?”

 

tyler didn’t know what to say to that, he was completely tongue-tied. it felt like he was meeting josh’s parents. 

 

“he, uh…” tyler began. “he ran into me one time and have me his number,” 

 

josh cut in as he tried not to laugh. “and then he sat on my face.”

 

frank (and gerard, who was painting in the next room) laugh so hard they cried.

 

tyler blushed so hard he looked like the exact shade of his mom’s favorite lipstick, while frank and josh high fived. gerard came out of his art cave to try and comfort the embarrassed boy, but him laughing made the help counter-productive. 

 

“i hate you,” tyler murmured into his hands. “i really, really hate you.”

 

josh grinned as wide as lake michigan. “no you don’t,” he pointed out, grabbing his tiny boyfriend and lifting him onto his lap. he kissed his cheeks over and over again as an apology, which tyler later accepted.

 

he smirks at the memory. 

 

josh nudges him. “what are you thinking about?” he questions, mouth still full of food.

 

“us,” tyler answers wistfully, and josh kisses the top of his head.

 

“i’m guessing it’s a happy memory?” he asks, genuinely inquisitive. 

 

they’ve had a lot of memories together, some food, some bad.

 

a good one is when they told each other they loved each other for the first time when they were both half asleep, buried under a billion stuffed animals on josh’s queen sized bed.

a bad one is when josh drove him home from studying at the local library with him and brendon and his dad saw him in the same car with “that boy” and beat him with a belt while yelling at him for twenty five minutes.

 

a great one is when they made love for the first time. tyler never felt ecstasy so pure in his entire life.

 

a horrible one is when tyler was finally kicked out for “poisoning his brother with same-sex attraction” after the young boy was caught hugging a fellow football player for a _little_ too long after a big win. he had one hour, his mom even started a timer, to pack up all his belongings and leave. 

 

the street, an orphanage, kentucky...anywhere but the joseph residence. 

 

he ended up out of there in forty-five and at josh’s house in ten.

 

(they knew the day was coming, and had planned accordingly.)

 

but that memory, of meeting the other residents for the first time, is definitely a good one.

  
tyler smiles and leans against josh, his back to the muscular chest and lean stomach. “yeah, definitely a happy one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's done!!! finally i finished a thing!! celebrate with me fellow trash!!!

**Author's Note:**

> also like side note if y'all actually want anything of these teeny fics that I keep posting to have like.....multiple parts just like....tell me and i'll fukcin try to do something. one of my new years goals is to fill a notebook i have with writing front to back and sometimes mama needs inspiration


End file.
